Pahlaj Nihalani promotes erotic thriller, sheds “sanskar”

Who can forget the unceremonious exit of Pahlaj Nihalani from the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) as the former chairperson! But trust him to try any ploy up his sleeves, when quite clearly he has not enjoyed his time away from the limelight, considering his recent antics would have us believe.

He slammed at the new Information and Broadcasting minister Smriti Irani earlier and now has not shied away from turning distributor for an erotic thriller flick, Julie 2.

While in chair, he made sure of nothing “unsanskari” escaped his eagle sharp eyes. In contrast to that, he is now distributing Julie 2 starring Raai Laxmi, peddled to be an erotic thriller.

The official trailer of Julie 2, that released today, begins with the words ‘Pahlaj Nihalani presents’, has sentences like, “Yahan pe sirf body chalta hai, garma-garam body,” and shots of blingy bras being slipped off at the drop of a hat.

Check out the trailer below:

Producer-Director Deepak Shivdasani of Julie 2 actually stated on the record that Nihalani had no problems at all with anything in the film. “It’s a content-driven film and Pahlajji had no objections to any of the scenes.”

Narrating how Pahlaj Nihalani came on board, Deepak Shivdasani said, “I started writing the script in 2012 and had discussed the idea with Pahlajji then. He loved it. He is family and after seeing it with his wife recently he told me ‘Yeh film ab meri hai,’ and will be presenting it.”

Pahlaj Nihalani confirmed these developments and added that how his responsibilities as the CBFC chief kept him away from his distribution work in the last few years. “My last films were Sridevi’s Tamil film Puli, followed by the 2016 Iranian-Indian Drama Salaam Mumbai. My family loved Julie 2, it’s a bold thriller about how talented people come into the industry and then are forced to compromise. It’s a good expose with a message for aspiring actors who come from across the county and don’t get the right people or platform.”

Well, that’s not all. The ex-CBFC chairperson further said how he thought Julie 2 should be given an ‘A’ certificate with no cuts. “Julie 2 should be given an ‘A’ certificate without any cuts. There is no vulgarity, obscenity or even a language problem,” he stated.

He also added, “This is a hot seat, you have to be careful with guidelines which are perfect and only the rating system we require.”

At the trailer launch of Julie 2, Pahlaj Nihalani was targeted for his sheer hypocrisy, but he maintained that he has no doubts that the film will pass with an ‘A’ certificate.

When asked if CBFC passes his film with innumerable cuts, he said that he will welcome their decision with open arms. In fact, he added that this is not a publicity gimmick to get him back in news.

Nihalani’s U-Turn has left many scratching their heads. After all, this is the same man who ordered kisses snipped, had problems with the word ‘intercourse’ and even with a bra being shown in a film.

Well, all we can say is, hypocrisy at its best, clearly, “sanskars” are out of the window! Is bollywood ready for a “sanskari erotic thriller”?